Opposites Attract
by ravenclawdancer4999
Summary: No one would have ever expected Specs and Krayonder to be friends. At first, they weren't; far from it. A prequel/sequel fic to Starship. Rated T to be safe for future chapters.
1. A New Assignment

**Hi all, sorry I've been MIA for a while. In case you didn't know, school is hard. I told you guys about this fic a while back. I've been playing with it (I have a beginning and an end, no middle) and finally decided to post. Let me know what you think, read and review. Hugs and butterfly kisses, ravenclawdancer4999.**

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A young woman dashed through the halls of Starship 15A2, her bag of tools repeatedly thumping against her right hip. She was going to be late if she didn't run.

Officer Julia Anderson was a graduate of the Academy, an elite military school run by the Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration, or, the GLEE, for short. On the day of graduation, she was enlisted to be a member of the crew of Starship 15A2 by none other than Commander Up, the famous war hero that had led the GLEE to victory during the Robot Wars. She recently reached her one-year anniversary of working on the ship as its resident engineer and technology specialist. The Commander had just paged her, telling her to be in his office in five minutes.

The girl wore the issued engineer uniform, but due to her short frame, the pants pooled around her ankles, nearly tripping her and the sleeves had been rolled several times to keep them out of the way. Her very short auburn hair curled tightly against her head and thick, almost goggle-like glasses slid down her freckled nose as she ran. Julia hastily pushed them back up on her face and hurriedly slid open the door

"I am so sorry sir," she panted, bursting through the door of Commander Up's office, "I was in the ship's hull working on the engine when I received your page. I had to run up seven flights and-"

"Don't worry about it," Up chuckled, gesturing to a chair opposite his, "Sit down, I'd like to talk to you about a new assignment."

"What is it, sir?"

"There is a new private on our starship, his name is Joseph Krayonder. I'm pretty sure that he graduated from the Academy the same year as you, but he hasn't been enlisted until now."

"Pardon my asking, Commander Up, but why not?"

"He earned extremely high scores on his physical exam, some of the best in your class. However, he failed nearly all of his written exams and hasn't been asked to join any crews, that is, until I asked him to join ours. I made him a deal, that he could join Starship 15A2 if he re-took his classes and passed his exams."

"But sir, why?"

"Call me crazy, but, I see something in him. Everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves and I can see that he wants to do just that. I'll also kindly remind you, Julia, that your physical exam score was less than fantastic when you became a member of this team, but I was still willing to overlook it due to your astounding written exam scores." Julia flushed red, being reminded of her below average grade on her practical exam.

"What do you want me to do, sir?"

"I'm afraid the boy isn't taking the classes seriously and is still doing poorly. I want you to tutor him, say, three nights a week from 1800 hours to 2100 hours. I've already given Private Joseph this information and he has agreed to meet you tomorrow night in the library. Hopefully, you can help to motivate him and raise his grades. Are you willing to do this for me?" Julia thought for a moment before nodding and giving him a nod, then a formal salute.

"Yes sir, you can depend on me. I won't let you down." Julia left the office, feeling quite important that she had been given a new assignment from the Commander. The next evening, she gathered her study materials and swept away to the library.

She strolled in and took a seat at one of the tables, carefully arranging the books she had brought into a neat pile. Checking the clock on the wall, she was roughly ten minutes early. Julia shrugged and took up a thick textbook on starship construction and mechanics. For the next thirty minutes, she continued to look up at the clock every two minutes or so only to see that it was getting later and later.

Finally, nearly twenty minutes late, Julia heard the air-locked door slide open and someone walked in. As he turned a corner around the bookshelf, she locked eyes on Private Joseph for the first time.

He was reasonably tall, at least compared to her he was, and had a lean, athletic build. The private had tan skin and sandy blonde hair that looked extremely rumpled. He wore the issued uniform for rangers, with the addition of a zapper slung across his back and a camouflage cap sitting sideways on his head. As he approached, Julia noticed his eyes, which were like small shards of ice, the lightest shade of blue without being silver.

"You're Private Joseph Krayonder, I presume?" she prompted.

"In the flesh," he replied lazily, sizing her up in two seconds, "And I suppose you're the tutor who is going to teach me the error of my ways?"

"My name is Officer Julia Anderson, for the record, Joseph."

"Don't call me that, I can't stand that name, I go by Krayonder."

"Well, _Krayonder_, you're late."

"I was practicing my shooting in the gymnasium," he answered, grinning, "Man, I got some of my best shots yet."

"And I suppose it didn't cross your mind that it was time for your tutoring session?"

"Yeah, it did actually."

"And you still arrived late?"

"Wow, for someone who's supposed to be so smart, you suck at figuring out the obvious." He leaned in, close enough so that she could feel his hot breath on her face. "I don't care, and I'd honestly rather polish all the weapons in the helm then be here right now." Julia was aghast; to her knowledge no one had ever been so impertinent to a superior officer before.

"I'll thank you to mind your sass, soldier. Especially when someone superior in rank is talking to you."

"Well, excuse me, should I bow or curtsy?"

"That's enough out of you," Julia growled, grabbing one of the thinner books, "Let's begin with the basics of calculus."

"Whatever you say, Specs," he countered dryly.

"My name is Julia and I expect to be addressed as such."

"Jeez, who spit in your canteen?"

"Pardon me if I actually of a sense of pride in myself and what I do, even though you can't seem to wrap your miniscule mind around that concept."

"Nerd," Krayonder muttered.

"What did you just call me?" Julia asked hotly.

"Nerd," he taunted, louder this time.

"Ignoramus," she retorted.

"Geek."

"Narcissist"

"Freak." This struck a nerve; her face growing hot with anger, Julia roughly grabbed the stack of books of the table and slung the bag of tools over her shoulder.

"I refuse to sit here and be insulted by the likes of you," Julia glared at Krayonder angrily, "You can forget passing your classes; fail them and be kicked off the crew for all I care. And don't think I won't be informing Commander Up of your behavior."

"Fine by me, I have better things to do than be bored to death by some dorky, stick-in-the-mud like you!" Krayonder shouted after her as she stalked out of the library.

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**Talk about starting off on the wrong foot...  
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	2. You Really Don't Like Me, Do You?

**This chapter is a bit short, but I've been meaning to post it for a few days. I should be studying for a Physics midterm now, so read and review, byeeeeeee. Hugs and butterfly kisses, ravenclawdancer4999**

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The next morning, Julia shoved open the door of the commander's office and walked in, not even bothering to knock.

"Hello, Julia," Commander Up greeted her, looking up from the files he was reading, "What can I do for you?"

"It's about the assignment you gave me, sir," Julia replied, gritting her teeth.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot, how did that go?" he asked.

"How did it go?" she uttered, launching into rant of frustration, "I have never met someone so full of himself, so disrespectful, so thoughtless, and so utterly unwilling to learn as him. I'm sorry Commander Up, but I cannot continue to work with Private Krayonder." The aged soldier paused for a moment, exhaling deeply.

"I understand your concerns, Julia," he replied mildly, "I know he's a bit rough around the edges-"

"A bit!" she exclaimed, looking shocked at such an understatement.

"But that's exactly why I've given you this task; I trust you and your abilities. He may seem unreachable to you, but his heart is in the right place. I wouldn't have accepted him to this team if it wasn't."

"I don't question your judgment Commander, but I'm not sure I understand what it is you want me to do."

"Just give him another chance, you might surprise each other. If there is improvement within six months, I will relieve you of your assignment. Until then, I don't want to hear another word on the matter."

"But, sir-" Julia protested.

"That will be all, officer," Up interrupted, returning to his paperwork, "You are dismissed." Julia looked at Up for a moment before giving a curt nod and saluting. She swept from the office, frustration written across her face.

Two days later, the engineer entered the library with her stack of books and spotted Krayonder, leaning back nonchalantly in a chair, his feet propped up on the table.

"_Officer_," he greeted her mockingly.

"You should know I went to Commander Up after our last tutoring session, _private_," she said coldly, dropping the books on the table and sitting in the chair opposite Krayonder, "I expressed to him my doubts of this helping, but he seems to have some amount of faith that you are capable of improving. Consider yourself lucky. If I had my way, your grades would continue to suffer and you would have to deal with the consequences on your own." However, instead of looking grateful or even remorseful, he had the audacity to simply smirk and lean forward towards Julia again.

"You really don't like me, do you?" he replied smartly.

"As a matter of fact, no," Julia countered, "It's not as though you are giving me any respect, so I don't see the need to return the favor. Do you care to give me legitimate reasons as to why you seem to dislike me so much?"

"You're bossy, judgmental, and a know-it-all," he said scathingly, "You never shut up and think you know everything. You're a nerdy, potato-faced loser who does nothing but read books all day and because of that, you think you're so much better than me. On top of that, I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't know what fun was if it slapped you across the face."

"You have no room to talk," she shot back, her face turning red with anger, "For starters, you are disrespectful, you don't think before you open your mouth, and you have absolutely no consideration for others. In addition to that, you refuse to learn and it's not because you can't learn, it's that you won't put in the effort. Most of all, you seem think that you're the center of the universe. I know that you're used to airheads with big boobs falling at your feet like you're some sort of god. Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't find ignorant, egotistical, jerks very attractive."

"It's not like anyone would ever think you were attractive, freak."

"Now you've resorted to insulting my appearance? How unoriginal. If you think I'm so unappealing, it should not surprise you that I have heard every possible cruel remark about my hair, glasses, and clothing and I highly doubt you of all people could come up with something new. Your attitude simply goes to show how shallow you really are. You think that because girls seem to find you so appealing that everyone should adore you. In fact, I am almost positive that's why you despise me so much; you hate that I don't worship the ground you walk on like every other girl you've ever met." Krayonder at least had the good sense to look offended this time; no one, definitely not any girl, had _ever _talked to him like before

"Well, good to know that the feelings are mutual," he scowled. The two rangers glared at each other as Julia took a book off the top of the stack.

"Let's do what we came here for and leave," she responded darkly, "I have more important things to do than this. Where should we start?"

"I don't know, maybe, the beginning?" Krayonder countered sarcastically. Twenty one-hundred hours couldn't have come sooner for the two rangers, they both raced for doors on opposite ends of the library.


	3. The Deal

**Another short chapter, but the next few chapters should be longer. Read and review! Hugs and butterfly kisses, ravenclawdancer4999.**

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The following tutoring sessions were no better; Julia and Krayonder each dreaded the hours that they were forced to spend together five days a week. Veiled insults were hurled from both sides and were so common, that neither of them bothered acknowledging them anymore.

After one particularly terrible session, Julia stalked into her room and grabbed her Hologram Contact Device, or HCD for short, off the table beside the bed. The HCD was her own invention so she could stay in contact with her family and Nicole, her friend from the Academy, who had been enlisted on another ship thousands of miles away.

She started up the device and selected Nicole's name. Shortly, the digital, 3D image of her best friend appeared in front of her.

"Hey, what's up?" her friend asked, "Where have you been for the past few weeks? Is something wrong?"

"My Commander gave me an assignment and it's turning out to be one of the most miserable experiences of my life," she answered, "There's a private on our ship, I'm quite certain he's our age. He earned high marks in his physical exam but failed nearly all his written exams. Commander Up accepted him to our crew on the condition that he would retake his classes and earn better grades. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been doing well, so I was assigned to tutor him until his scores improve.

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"That's what I thought until I met him. Here, let me pull up a photo for you." She quickly searched the ship's database on the HCD and pulled up a photo.

"I still don't see the problem, Jules, he's hot."

"Not the point, Nicole. He's an arrogant, boneheaded jerk. He must have called me a freak at least five times in the last hour.

"He just became significantly less attractive."

"Thank you. Anyways, what should I do? I've already tried talking to Commander Up and he's still forcing me to follow through."

"Just don't let him get under your skin, worst thing you can do is let him have the satisfaction." Julia took the advice to heart, but things were only slightly better. She arrived at the library to find that Krayonder was late, again. She had to refrain from yelling as he strutted in fifteen minutes later. Needless to say, the next few hours didn't go well.

"I can't believe I'm wasting my time with a loser like you," Krayonder growled, "I'm not doing any better, so why bother?"

"You are possibly the single most un-teachable person I have ever encountered," Julia groaned, "I could be finishing my newest project, yet, I'm stuck here being insulted by you."

"Well, it looks like we can agree on one thing," he scowled, "Neither of us wants to be here."

"Unfortunately, it seems we're stuck with each other," she grimaced, "Commander Up has instructed us to continue these sessions for the next year. If there is improvement in your scores, we will both be free to stop." Neither of them spoke for a moment, until Krayonder's eyes flickered with an idea.

"Let's make a deal, then," he suggested.

"What kind of deal are we talking about?" she replied suspiciously.

"I promise to treat you with respect, if you'll help me raise my grades. I won't call you nerdy or weird, I'll show up on time, and I'll try my best to learn."

"What's my end of the bargain?"

"You can't call me arrogant or disrespectful, you can't expect me to learn everything in a day, and you have to actually try to help me." The girl paused for a moment, rolling the idea around in her head for a minute

"You've got yourself a deal." The two rangers shook hands over the table.


	4. A New Nickname

**Longer chapter, as promised. Read, enjoy and please please please review! Hugs and butterfly kisses, ravenclawdancer4999**

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From then on, the two kept their pact. Julia attempted to be patient with Krayonder and Krayonder tried his best to be a good student. Amazingly, they managed to tolerate each other quite well when they weren't biting each others heads off. However, their conversations never seemed to stray from tutoring until one particularly frustrating night roughly a month later.

"I can't do this," Krayonder groaned, "I'll never remember all this for my engineering test next week!"

"Yes, you will," Julia replied calmly, "You just have to work for it."

"I'm not like you," he shook his head, "I'm just stupid." He buried his head in his arms in shame and frustration. Julia paused for a moment, trying to find the right words.

"…Krayonder, you may be a lot of things," she admitted, "But stupid isn't one of them." The private looked up from the table, looking halfway amused.

"You know, I think that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me," he chuckled.

"I think you might be right," she mused, the slightest trace of a smile flickering across her lips, "But if you want to pass that test, we'd better get back to work." A week later, Krayonder came running into the library, waving a paper excitedly.

"I passed!" he yelled enthusiastically, putting the paper down in front of her. A bright red C plus was written in the corner of the exam. She looked at the paper, then back up at Krayonder, looking at his proud grin.

"Well done," she nodded, "However, I still think we can get your score higher."

"But I already worked so hard just to get the C," Krayonder complained, "Come on, Specs!"

"Specs?" Julia raised an eyebrow. Her immediate thought went back to the day she first met Krayonder, and he had mockingly called her by the same name

"Sorry, it just, came out," he admitted, looking halfway apologetic, "That's just the nickname I have for you; I guess it stuck after that first day. I won't call you that, you know, if it really bothers you."

Julia paused for a moment, looking curiously at Krayonder. No one had ever really called her by a nickname before, unless you counted Nicole calling her 'Jules.' A month ago, she would have dismissed the name immediately, but now, she wasn't so sure. In all honesty, what had shocked her most was Krayonder apologizing for something and actually taking her opinion into consideration. Maybe in the absence of his rude remarks and her spiteful comments, he was a somewhat bearable human being and she had never noticed. She considered her options before speaking again.

"How about we make another deal?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"I will let you call me Specs, but only if you can get at least a B on your Calculus test on Thursday."

"But that's only three days away!"

"Then I guess you had better start studying."

Julia didn't realize how seriously Krayonder took her advice. He studied constantly; during meals, before he went to sleep, even between training sessions. Four days later, Krayonder waltzed into the library, a grin on his face. He slid a paper face down across the table.

"Read it and weep," he smirked. Julia picked up the paper and scanned the top. It was Krayonder's Calculus test. A dark red ninety-three percent was circled in the corner. He had gotten an A.

"Excellent," Julia nodded, genuinely happy for him, "See? I told you if you just applied yourself you could do well!"

"You've got to hold up your end of the bargain," he replied smugly, "I get to call you Specs now."

"I suppose I'll just have to get used to it," she sighed, rolling her eyes.

Julia hadn't expected what came after; within a few weeks, not only was Krayonder calling her Specs, but the entire crew as well. The nickname simply stuck and strangely, she didn't mind as much as she thought she would. In fact, she hardly ever thought of herself as Julia anymore.

A few weeks later, Specs sat at her desk, working diligently on her latest project. Biting her lip thoughtfully, she continued sketching on the blueprint. A series of loud knocks startled her, causing her to drop her pencil before she got up and went to her door. Pressing a button, the air-locked panel slid open.

"Krayonder?" she said, looking befuddled, "What do you want?"

"You gotta hide me," he begged, glancing over his shoulder frantically, "If she asks, I'm not here." Without waiting for an invitation, he barreled into Specs' room and dove behind her issued army cot.

"Who?" Specs called after him, slightly disgruntled, "Now you listen to me, you can't just come barging in here without-"

"Have you seen Joseph Krayonder come down this way?" a nasally voice cut in, making Specs jump slightly.

She turned back to the door, only to be met face to face with a female ranger, hands on her hips and looking very cross. Specs sized her up; her first impression was, _blonde_.

"May I ask who wants to know?" she responded slowly, trying to block the doorway best she could.

"I'm his _girlfriend_," the blonde replied, pursing her lips impatiently, "And I need to talk to him."

"Well, I haven't seen him," Specs lied unconvincingly, "He certainly isn't in here."

"I could have told you that," she sniffed, looking Specs up and down before stifling a laugh and walking off down the corridor. Only once he was sure she was out of earshot, did Krayonder crawl cautiously out from behind the bed.

"So I, see you've met Stephanie," he smiled weakly.

"Charming," Specs grimaced, "Is your girlfriend always that pleasant?"

"Ex-girlfriend," Krayonder admitted sheepishly, "She doesn't quite understand, that we, wanted different things."

"You broke up with her?" Specs said incredulously, "And you're _running_?"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"May I ask why you broke up with her in the first place?"

"She's annoying."

"That's it? Then why did you date her?" This last question seemed to fluster Krayonder slightly; he looked extremely uncomfortable.

"I don't know," he shrugged, running his hand nervously through his hair, "It gave me something to do."

"So you're saying you never actually liked Stephanie?" she replied, crossing her arms, "You just decided it would be acceptable to play with her affections until you got bored?"

"No that's not it," he stammered, "It's complicated and-" Specs had heard enough; she walked over to the cot and grabbed Krayonder roughly by the shoulder, pulling him up with a surprising amount of strength.

"Get out," she growled.

"Specs-" he pleaded

"Out."

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**Just when you thought things might be starting to get better between them...**


	5. A Smile Makes All the Difference

**New chapter just before the new year! This one is short again, but I'll try to update one more time before classes resume in a week. Read and review! Hugs and butterfly kisses, ravenclawdancer4999**

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A few days later, Krayonder sat at his usual table in the library and was surprisingly, a few minutes early. He fidgeted in his seat as he waited, unsure of what kind of treatment he was going to get after the incident with Stephanie.

Sure enough, Specs walked in a few minutes later, a fresh stack of books in her arms. Without saying a word to Krayonder, she dropped them on to the table and sat in the chair opposite his. She pushed an especially thick-looking book towards him.

"We'll start working on mechanical engineering today," she instructed in an unusually stiff tone, not making any eye contact, "Read through chapter 10 and let me know when you've finished." Figuring it would be best for his well-being, Krayonder didn't say anything, but simply nodded and took up the thick book. He squinted at the small letters; maybe it was his imagination, but this textbook seemed particularly tedious and wordy. It took him nearly two hours just to read through the chapters and another two to decipher the questions Specs assigned him.

By the time he handed her several sheets of paper covered in scratch-outs, the alarm on his watch and her HCD began to beep, signaling the end of the session. Specs rushed to leave the library, tripping gracelessly and dropping the entire stack of books in the process. Seeing an opportunity, Krayonder rushed over to her and began to help her restack the books.

"Why aren't you talking to me?" he asked bluntly, handing her a calculus book. She peered at him over the stack of books, something in her gaze still somewhat cold.

"I haven't the foggiest idea of what you're talking about," she replied smoothly, not meeting his eyes, "It's not as though we talk very much as it is. I tell you the assignments, you do them, and I correct you when you're wrong."

"You know what I mean," Krayonder retorted, "I know we're not exactly friends, but you won't even look at me in the eye. Why?"

"I seemed to have forgotten just how insensitive and ignorant you really are," Specs answered bluntly, "Until I was reminded due to your behavior towards Stephanie."

"What did I do that was so wrong? She wasn't the one for me, so I didn't want to lead her on anymore."

"That's just it, Krayonder. I don't think you understand that the entire time you were in the relationship, you were doing precisely that. If you never truly had feelings for her, you should not have led her to believe she had a chance with you. You would have been better off being honest with her.

"I just didn't want to hurt her by saying no." Specs sighed deeply, momentarily shutting her eyes; it seemed that no matter where you happened to be, men were universally hopeless when it came to emotions.

"It would have hurt her less than what you did. Now, while Stephanie may not be my favorite person, no female deserves to have their feelings tampered with like that. Girls have very fragile emotions, you have to learn to be more sensitive." A look of understanding dawned on Krayonder, as though he just registered what Specs had said.

"Well I wish someone had explained it to me sooner, before you made understand the phrase, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' Has anyone ever told you that you're fucking terrifying when you're angry?"

Instead of answering, Specs simply looked shocked for a moment, before a bemused expression slowly found its way across her face. For the first time since he had met her, she actually looked, smug. A small laugh escaped her lips.

"Are you laughing at me?" Krayonder scowled.

"No, not at all," Specs mused, trying to stifle her giggles, "I just find it interesting that I frighten you to an extent."

"Most people wouldn't think that was funny," he replied bluntly, but a grin slowly worked its way across his face.

"As you've pointed out on numerous occasions, I'm not most people," she raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly, "Care to explain why you're so intimidated by me?"

"I don't know, just the fact that I always look like an idiot compared to you," he shrugged, "Not to mention I thought you were going to punch me or something."

"Don't think it didn't cross my mind and don't think I'm not still tempted."

"But why didn't you?"

"Besides the fact that unlike you I actually might have qualms about hurting someone I, was right in assuming that you didn't know any better or you had never been told otherwise. However much I might like to punish you for your ignorance, it wouldn't be fair."

"Thanks…I think…"

"That, and heaven knows what you would do if someone ruined your precious 'good looks.'"

"That's a little below the belt, don't you think?"

"You tell me, pretty boy. Wouldn't you be offended if I broke your nose?

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure most people would be. Bloodying up someone's face doesn't exactly endear you to a lot of people. And don't call me 'pretty boy.'"

"I allowed you to call me Specs, therefore I should be able to call you whatever I want."

Just then, the alarm on Krayonder's watch beeped for a second time. He gathered his books, taking his time instead of automatically running for the door.

"See you around," he nodded.

"See you," Specs replied, the hint of a smile still etched across her face. Krayonder turned to leave, only stopping right in the doorway to turn briefly back to Specs.

"You know, you look a lot better when you smile," he commented, "You should do it more often." He left the library before Specs could reply, leaving her with a slightly confused look on her face.


End file.
